Stranger Things
by Steffii
Summary: Alternate Universe: Max and Chloe meet a week before the events of the main game. Chloe wants nothing to do with Max when she finds out her former best friend is back in Arcadia Bay. Strange things begin happening, and nothing is what it seems.
1. Prospect of Reunion

**Author's Note:** Let me start by saying how much I LOVE this game! It inspired me in so many ways! Anyway, this is an AU of Life is Strange. As the summary says, it takes place a week before the events of the game. The reason is because I wanted Chloe and Max to slowly become friends again [and more] but when I get to the actual part of the first episode, there will be a lot of different things.

* * *

Monday, September 30th, 2013

Max Caulfield stared down at her phone for a couple of minutes, deciding whether or not she should call _her_ : Chloe Price, her best friend she moved away from years ago. She knew the phone number, keeping it safe, and yet never dialed those numbers when she moved to Seattle. It was the one thing she never understood, and the biggest mystery of all? Why she didn't contact Chloe as soon as she arrived in Arcadia Bay.

She hadn't seen her around in Blackwell Academy… did she go somewhere else? She put the phone down on the end table, lying on the bed for a while. Dwelling on it made the fear of how Chloe would react even worse. _Just do it, Max. Dial the number._ She grabbed the cellphone, dialing the number. It rang a couple of times before a woman's gentle voice picked up, a voice she recognized. Joyce Price, Chloe's mother. "Hello?"

Max opened her mouth to say 'Hi, Joyce. It's Max Caulfield'. No words came out. "Hello?" Joyce repeated. What was she supposed to say? ' _Sorry I hurt your daughter by moving away and never speaking to her again'._ Panicking, Max quickly ended the call. She buried her face into her hands, not able to believe what just happened. What an embarrassment to hang up on a woman she knew for most of her life.

"God - what's wrong with you? You are too scared to make single phone call, Max!" she muttered to herself.

She had to attend class shortly and would think about trying again later by not _hanging up_ if she could bring herself to look at her cellphone again. Her heart still pounded after the call. Max never realized it was a lot harder than she thought… not like she gave it time to think about what to say.

Photography class. One of her favorite courses and the main reason for her returning to Blackwell Academy. Mark Jefferson was also another reason, too. And she was psyched to attend the school until the first day when she could feel everyone judging her. Especially from Victoria Chase but she chose to stay out of that girl's way and avoid confrontation altogether. Another reminder of why high school sucked in general.

She ran into Kate Marsh in the dorm hallway who barely murmured a "hello" to Max. They had the same class together and Max enjoyed having her around. "Hey Kate. How are you?"

Kate shrugged. The dark bags under her eyes indicated she did not have a great sleep. "Okay… I guess. What about you?"

"Same old, same old. Kind of tired since its Monday."

"I know what you mean. Sometimes I just want to be by myself and not in a classroom."

"At least it's a somewhat easier class." The photography class was easy because Max knew what Jefferson was speaking about in his lectures. Photography, since she was young, had become a serious hobby for her.

Kate nodded, her eyes facing the ground, pretending as if something caught her eye, but Max knew something was off with her. She walked with Kate to class even though her usual friends, Alyssa and Stella, usually walked with her. Those two were not in their dorms or already went to class.

She remained silent on their walk to class, staying quite close to Max when they passed Victoria Chase and her two 'minions', Taylor and Courtney. Victoria never gave the time of day to anyone least of all Kate. Everyone bullied Kate because of her belief in abstinence, making it ten times worse when she created a program for it. But they didn't know her. How could they judge somebody without knowing them first?

She was one of the first _few_ people who welcomed her with open arms and never once enforced her faith on anyone. "Kate… want to do something after class?"

"Maybe," Kate replied. "I don't know yet. It depends if I am feeling up to it."

"We can always do it another time if you choose not to," Max said, arriving on the front steps of the academy.

It was hard not to become awestruck by Blackwell Academy's structure. There were at least several more classrooms than in her last high school in Seattle. The school had two stories and a pool on the other west side of the building. The statue, surrounded by a fountain, of Jeremiah Blackwell, who founded the academy, remained in the courtyard proud and tall with the motto " _The future needs excellence_ " written on the plaque. Although the exterior was amazing in architecture, the inside was simply an average high school with a bit more history than most.

The classroom wasn't like most in the school. Instead of desks, it had tables where three or more students sat at, but there were enough for Max and Kate to sit by themselves. Mr. Jefferson would usually talk in the middle of the classroom instead of the front. He said in the first day of class that he wanted to be more open with his students.

In the few minutes before class started, Victoria and Taylor entered laughing about something. Victoria stopped, her eyes on Kate's table. "Had fun at the Vortex Club party on Friday, now didn't you?" Taylor giggled. Kate wasn't laughing, though. "What was that about celibacy, Kate? I guess you can't keep everything."

Max wished she sat beside Kate instead of her usual seat. Victoria acted like her normal self. The cliché of a selfish, spoiled, popular girl Max saw so many times on television, or otherwise known as the Alpha Bitch. She couldn't understand the need for it in such a prestigious school. Weren't a lot of people in the school artists? They had no purpose to look down on others. Kate wiped a few tears from her eyes as Victoria made another awful comment towards her. Luckily, Jefferson came into the classroom as soon as the bell rang, prompting Victoria and Taylor to take their seats.

"We have a new student joining us today. Not technically new, I guess… she's rejoining. And is apparently late. We will go on with class until she arrives," Jefferson said. "Anyway. Last week we discussed about different techniques. Today I'd like to move on to some examples. If you read your textbook from last class, you should remember."

Max watched Kate trying to pay attention to Jefferson. She almost looked like she was falling asleep. The bullying never truly bothered her before or if it did she never showed it up until today. Taylor threw a couple of wrapped paper balls at Kate when Mr. Jefferson had his back to the other side of the classroom. _That's just pathetic,_ Max thought. _Like you can talk, Max. You're not even doing anything about it._

The door opened abruptly, interrupting Mr. Jefferson before he could get to the lecture. "I'm here for class," said the new student, who finally walked in. She was differently dressed than most of the students in the classroom. She wore a dark purple beanie over her blue dyed hair, and a bullet necklace around her neck. The epitome of a punk essentially. She crossed her arms impatiently, tapping her foot like being in class was a waste of her time. Max admired the girl's outfit. It was a bit out there but in a good way.

But her face… where did Max see it before? She swore she did at one point… or maybe it was merely Déjà vu?

"Welcome back!" Mr. Jefferson said, warmly. "You must be Chloe Price."

 _Chloe?_ Max almost stood up but remained in her seat _. That's Chloe Price?! Shit. She's going to recognize me._

Chloe slightly turned to Max, keeping her gaze for a long second or two, but eventually looked away and sat at the same table as Kate. Max spent the remainder of the next twenty minutes trying not to stare at Chloe. It was hard not to since she was once Max's best friend… and they weren't even sitting beside each other. She changed so much in appearance that Max hardly noticed it was her. She would have known if she picked up the phone to call Chloe earlier.

 _This is really bad._ She had no time for preparation. It was hard to say anything to her when Mr. Jefferson was lecturing. Max was surprised to not see Chloe at Blackwell Academy, and expected her around somewhere. However, Chloe never liked school since they were kids, and unlikely she showed up for majority of her time in class. She hated judging people by their clothing, but guessed Chloe got into a lot of mischief since she generally enjoyed to as far as Max remembered. But who knows what happened after she left.

As soon as the bell rang for class to end, Max took her things and fled the classroom, hoping Chloe would not speak to her just yet. She still had time to prepare if she quickly returned to her dorm and rehearsed what she wanted to say. Then maybe tomorrow would not be so bad. "So, when were you going to tell me you moved back, Caulfield?" Chloe leaned against the locker as Max put her books away. She almost jumped when she saw her punk best friend standing there, not waiting but _demanding_ an answer from her. "Or was Seattle that much better?"

She expected this, knowing there was no way to prevent the confrontation. "No, Chloe… I just... "

"You what?" Chloe asked, mildly annoyed. Max, unable to respond, sighed. She had no way of convincing Chloe she still cared about her and wished to continue their friendship. _What a horrible day._ Going back to her dorm and sulking in bed sounded nice right now. Maybe she'd stay there for the remainder of the semester.

Outside the school, Chloe was putting up posters on the bulletin board as well as around the walls of the building. It was a missing person's poster… of a girl named Rachel Amber. "Need help?" Max asked sheepishly.

Chloe shook her head, without making any eye contact. "From you? I think I will pass."

She scratched the back of her neck. "Okay… well who is Rachel Amber to you?"

Chloe plunged a thumb tack into one of the posters. "A _good_ friend."

"And she's missing?"

"The poster says she is, doesn't it?"

"Yeah but -"

Chloe shook her head, turning to Max, her anger showing no signs of going anywhere. "Don't pretend to care, Max. It's not like you do anyway. Please, leave me alone." She walked away to the other building with the pool to place more posters there. Max did as she asked. She wondered how many classes Chloe was in with Max. _Hopefully, not too many_ , she thought, gloomily walking to the dorms.

Before Max twisted the knob for her dorm room, she heard Kate calling out to her from behind. "Max, is it okay if… we talk for a moment?" Kate asked, peering from her dorm room door. Max nodded, and Kate let her inside the room. Kate's room was one of the neatest dorm rooms Max had ever been inside of. Not one speck of dust made itself noticeable on any of the furniture, nor were her clothes on the floor but neatly folded. She also decorated the room with quotes from the bible, or paintings of 'Jesus'. "Do you think we could walk to Jefferson's class together from now on?"

"Of course. Why aren't Alyssa and Stella walking with you?"

Kate fed her bunny, whom she named Alice, a carrot before responding to Max. Max loved her bunny, wanting one herself but her parents thought it'd be better to focus on school work. "They've been busy with homework," she replied. "I…I can't stand walking by myself." As if she were cold, she began rubbing her arms repeatedly. How could Max say no to Kate? She was disturbed… by something. "Thank you, Max. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Kate. And if there is anything else you want to talk about, I am all ears," Max said, before leaving.


	2. Together, Again

**Author's note: So... Yeah. Reminder this is an AU... so if you see anything not 'canon'... it's because it's an alternate universe. By the way, if you don't see a date in a chapter, it means it takes place the same day as the previous chapter. There's no 'rewinding' power this week. There will be but I'd like to make things ' _alternate'._  
**

* * *

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013

Chloe was in at least two of her classes. English, and Photography. In English class, she didn't sit beside Max, she had her feet on the desk, which the teacher berated her for and told her to take them off. Chloe took them off, only after giving the teacher a middle finger when she wasn't looking. The old Chloe was never that rebellious except with her mother. She stayed quiet, the whole first period, not even talking back once or causing trouble. _She's so far, and yet so close to me,_ Max thought. What would have happened if she was able to speak with Joyce yesterday and asked for Chloe?

It was best not to think of it too much. Max knew thinking too much fried her brain, and she needed it for school. She hardly got any sleep last night, wondering if she should try phoning again the next day or not.

She felt a little better about photography class, walking with Kate to the classroom as she promised yesterday. The circles around Kate's eyes were dark as before, and she did not speak too much either. Kate was fine the whole week until the weekend after that Vortex Club party on Friday. People kept whispering about it, and some mentioned Kate here and there as well.

"After our discussion yesterday's class, it occurred to me… we have yet to do an actual project. I would love to see what you all come up with, and manage how you grow as an artist and a photographer," Jefferson said. Students in the class groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I know but this is not a punishment. It's a way to help you all express yourselves." Everyone, except Victoria, was groaning or acting like children who lost their favorite toy. Jefferson smiled at them. "You can pick your partners." She hated having her work up for the entire class to see, especially when it came for the critique.

"Partners? Sweet!" Hayden exclaimed.

Max and Kate exchanged glances but Alyssa asked her before Max was able to. She thought Kate said Alyssa was avoiding her. By the time five minutes passed, mostly everyone had a partner except for Max. Chloe looked like she wasn't with anyone. _Maybe I can go solo…_ she thought but when Jefferson confronted her she knew that wasn't happening. "I know this is hard, Max, but you need to have a partner."

Max forced herself not to groan. She would have to pick Chloe if she didn't want Jefferson on her case again. Sighing because of not having much choice, she sat herself beside Chloe, who pretended not to see her. "Looks like you are my partner for this," she said. Chloe either didn't hear her or purposely chose not to respond.

"Now that all of you have a partner, I will tell you what the project is about." He didn't believe in handouts, instead posting it on the class forum online for everyone to see, after he explained it in class. "I'm sure you're all friends with each other. Am I right? Well, I want each of you to take a picture of your partner and vice versa, tell me a story of what represents your friendship by using chiaroscuro. I don't care what camera you use, but no, Hayden, the pictures cannot be taken with digital or your cellphone." Hayden groaned in annoyance. "You are free to discuss this with your partner for the remainder of the class today. It's due by Saturday but we will look at them on Monday."

"I get how you are mad, but we still have a project we need to work on. We have to communicate."

"I don't care."

"You don't care that I want a good grade for me and you?"

"Ugh, why are you making this difficult…"

 _I am making this difficult?_ Max, thought. She shook her head. "On the contrary, I think you are."

Chloe huffed. "Well I don't know what to do for this project."

"Which is why we discuss it first."

Photography class was supposed to be fun not miserable. The Chloe Price she used to know loved art only not as much as Max did. She should be smiling that she reunited with her best friend but how? After the confrontation yesterday, Max assumed Chloe wanted nothing to do with her, and even expected her to skip class. "Anyway ideas?" Max asked her.

Chloe shrugged. "I don't know. You're the photographer." It was like pulling teeth trying to speak with her. She made everything difficult. One thing hasn't changed since Max left.

Did she seriously believe Max would do all the work? If Victoria were her partner she wouldn't dare let Max do everything. In fact, she probably would end up completing it herself. "FYI, you have to take a photo, too."

"I'm aware of that," Chloe said. "School has never been my thing."

 _Right, because I never noticed… this conversation was going nowhere._ Max let her body fall back into the chair. She began wondering to herself why did she ever attended Blackwell Academy aside from the photography class… if the school had neither the program or Mark Jefferson, why was she there? Was one of the reasons going back for Chloe? She started doubting it ever was despite wanting to see her after she was settled in Arcadia Bay. Chloe definitely didn't want to see Max let alone _look_ her way.

Everyone else in the class talked to their partners with no problem at all. She never realized Hayden and Daniel were, or used to be friends. Those two couldn't be more opposite. Just like her and Chloe. _If those two can get along… why can't Chloe and I?_ She thought.

"What a perfect combination," Victoria said. If things couldn't get any worse. "Two losers together. Can't wait to see what you come up with. As long as Mr. Jefferson's glass don't break from how bad it is."

"Please, come up with something original, Victoria," Chloe muttered. "I am not in the mood right now."

"Your fashion isn't original. Well, at least Max's isn't. Your friend has better taste than you," she said to Max. "You're basically a hipster knock off."

"Ladies, is there a problem here?" Mr. Jefferson interjected, before either Max or Chloe replied.

"Not at all, Mr. Jefferson," Victoria replied, innocently. "I was only asking what they wanted to do for their project."

 _She'll kill me later if I disagree. She doesn't want to look bad in front of Mr. Jefferson,_ Max thought. "She's right."

"Really?" Mr. Jefferson asked, sounding like he didn't believe them. "Looked to me like you three were having an intense argument."  
"No, no… Chloe hasn't had a good sleep. So she's snappy," Max said. "It happens when _we_ teenagers don't have enough coffee."

Mr. Jefferson offered a sly smile to the three girls. A wave of relief washed over Max. She didn't want trouble with Victoria Chase. "Well, in the future, drink more coffee, Chloe."

Chloe said nothing. Victoria went back to her original seat, glancing over at Max once in a while. Victoria would purposely try to rile up her and Chloe before the project was due. She'd do anything to make herself look good, or impress her friends. "How you and Victoria know each other?"

"Before I was expelled... through Rachel Amber. They were both in the Vortex club."

"And I guess Rachel and Victoria didn't get along?" Max asked.

She shrugged. "Probably not. Never paid attention."

"Where would we go?" Chloe asked. "They are only pictures. Not a big deal." Maybe not to you but to me it's a big deal.

"We could go to my dorm after classes."

Chloe shrugged, without a care in the world. Max took her response as Chloe saying 'yes'. She could tell it was about to be another long day.

* * *

She sat by the fountain in the courtyard, waiting for Chloe's final class to end. Students lay down on the grass, texting, or talking to their friends. It was mainly enjoyable to watch everyone until she noticed Victoria and her posse walking up to her. "What's your project going to be? More selfies?"

Taylor and Courtney laughed. They went over to Kate, who sat by herself on one of the benches. Max watched Victoria laughing and showing Kate something on her phone. Kate buried her face into her hands, walking away from them but they continued following her. She tore her gaze away, unable to look any longer.

"Max!" a cheery voice exclaimed. It was definitely not Chloe. Instead, Warren Graham sat next to her on the fountain. He was probably the only boy who actually had a crush on her in high school. He was the geekiest guy she knew, and was into mainly science stuff. "So have you thought about what I asked you on the weekend?" He asked her to go to the drive in with him in Newberg because he recently bought himself a car. Clearly, he wished for more than friendship, which made Max ponder if she was even ready for a real relationship with anyone. She told him she would think about it first and let him know later in the week.

He brushed away a piece of his light brown hair from his face. Usually, he wore t-shirts with the funniest sayings on the front of them, but this time he wore a simple long sleeved shirt. Not like she blamed him for dressing that way today. It was kind of chilly for some reason and only in September. Max admired his brown eyes, believing they gave him a lost puppy look… not that she would ever tell him else he might think of it as an insult. They enjoyed nerdy things together, constantly ranting on about the movies on Warren's USB stick he gave her a couple weeks ago. She was supposed to have it for a week but he said she could have it for longer.

"I… um… still not ready to give an answer," Max told him.

"That's okay… but -"

"Are you ready to go?" Chloe asked, almost pushing Warren into the fountain if she inched herself any closer to him. Thank goodness for her impeccable timing.

"Chloe, this is Warren from my science class. Warren, this is Chloe Price, my old friend from childhood."

"Nice to meet you, Cleo."

Chloe craned her neck to glare at him. "It's Chloe," she replied, unimpressed. Warren seemed taken aback by her snappy response but let it go. "Come on, Max, since you so desperately want this project done."

"Talk to you later, Max… and C-Chloe!" Warren said, before they left. "And don't forget to think about going to the drive in movie!"

Chloe almost said nothing to her the whole way to the dorms until they were inside. "Is he your boyfriend?" she asked, offhandedly.

"Who… Warren? No, no. He's a friend."

"Does he _know_ that?"

 _I hope so,_ Max thought. "You remember how to use a camera?" she asked.

"No, Max. I've forgotten since I have my dad's camera," Chloe replied. "Of course I remember how! I just… don't use it often."

She used her key to unlock her dorm room door. "You have to remember it can't be just any picture. It has to have depth to it."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Max handed her the camera she used since she was twelve years old. Chloe looked through the viewer and was about to take a picture when her foot got caught on the guitar and she fell forward. The camera broke into several pieces. "Shit…" Chloe said, trying to stand up. Looking down on the floor, she raised her eyebrows. "Max, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to break it."

She shook her head, as much as she wished to scream. Now how were they supposed to finish the project? "I'm sure Mr. Jefferson can give us a spare. Damnit… I think he went home after class."

"We could borrow from someone else?"

"Like who? Victoria? Yeah, she'll go for it!"

Chloe sighed. "It was only a suggestion, you know. I said I was sorry for breaking your camera."

Max could hardly feel sorry for Chloe. She picked up the broken pieces of her former camera. "We can't ask Kate either. I don't want you using hers and breaking it to add to her problems."

"Then we should go to my house. I have my dad's camera. Unused but it uses your instant film." Go to her house? She hadn't been there in years. The last memory she still had was the day she told Chloe she was moving to Seattle, and how shocked Chloe was from the revelation. Chloe opened the door to leave, and stopped when she noticed Max wasn't following her. "Are you coming?"

Max gathered all the items she needed to put inside her nap sack. "Yeah, of course. Give me a second."

Before she left with Chloe, she stopped in front of Kate's dorm. Someone wrote graffiti on her board. Max quickly wiped it off, and drew a smiley face in front of it. She was shocked no one drew on Victoria's No one who wanted to keep their reputation. _Damn these Blackwell assholes! They don't even know Kate. Why do they think they can keep doing this to her?_ Max thought. She was such a sweet person and didn't deserve it. Just because of her beliefs… they had a reason to bully her. _So stupid._

"I don't think my mom is home," Chloe said. "So we have the house to ourselves… although I think my step dad will be home later."

Step father? That was a new one. "Joyce remarried?"

"Four years ago. After my dad died... It seems as though she forgot who her real husband was."

"He can't be that bad…" Max said. "Is he?"

Chloe shook her head, adding a laugh. "Not that bad? You have seen nothing yet. He manipulates my mother into taking his side constantly, and all the while harasses me on a daily basis. Unfortunately you might have to meet him tonight if he is home."

"He sounds lovely," Max muttered, as she followed Chloe into her old truck. Not the greatest looking truck she had seen but it felt like it was Chloe's for sure. Old, and rusty… the color was… a beige or possibly a yellow at one time? Her attitude matched her driving. Wild, and unpredictable. She swore Chloe nearly hit a couple of signs on her way out of the parking lot.

"So… do you have a job?" Max asked her.

"You expect me to work at a place like the Two Whales? Hell, no. I admit, it would be nice to have extra cash."

Max was unable to see Chloe ever working as a waitress. She would probably yell at the customers and get herself fired. "You mean you haven't gone through fourteen jobs by now?"

"There's that sass," Chloe chuckled. "And no. I have never had a job. Can you see me having one?"

She tried not to think about it. "No."

"Well at any rate, welcome home, Max," Chloe said, as the car steered into the driveway. The house was still the same before Max left. It was like time left it untouched. She guessed nobody found time to continue painting the house blue because only half of it was left unpainted. Inside her house was more or less the way Max remembered it. They even kept the pictures on the side of the walls beside the stairs. It still had some of William, Chloe's father, left in it.

Max definitely could not remember what Chloe's bedroom looked like but not with clothes and junk all over the floor. She had even more posters decorating the wall, with graffiti writing too in black marker. She cringed a little, unsure if her room was the place to discuss their project. _Ugh,_ Max thought, _I guess her disorganization caught up with her after William died._

"I know, my room isn't what you last remembered."

"It looks… cozy."

"Just wait until David gets home. There is nowhere in this house that is safe to hide." Max already disliked her stepfather by the way she spoke of him in such a distain manner. She wondered how much of it was correct… Chloe did have a tendency of overreacting at times, not to mention how she loved riling people up. Still, something about David didn't quite sit right. "So, ideas? You're the photographer."

"Well we have to do something that represents our friendship. You take my photo and I take yours."

"Yeah, I got that part.," Chloe muttered. "Somehow I feel it's not possible… Considering you've been gone for five years. And you must have forgotten me if you never contacted me at all."

"No way. I never forgot you! How could I? You were on my mind every day, Chloe. I was seriously scared to pick up that phone."

"Why? I would have loved to hear from you."

"I know –" A loud car door slammed outside, interrupting Max from continuing.

Chloe peaked out the window and swore out loud. Her stepfather was home."Damnit, Chloe! I told you not to park like that in the driveway!" David shouted, when he entered the house. He walked up the stairs, indicating he wanted to speak with Chloe about it.

"Prepare," Chloe said to Max. "Armageddon awaits."


	3. Aperture

"Ten seconds until step-ass approaches," Chloe announced.

She glanced at her watch, counting down the seconds until her stepfather came barreling into her room, not bothering to knock on the door first. Max braced herself, already believing Chloe when she was warned about David. "You deliberately park in the drive way so I can't get into the garage, Chloe."

Chloe shrugged his anger off. "So park on the street." David didn't like her saying that to him.

"I'm dead serious, Chloe. Move your car."

Max stayed still for as long as she could, watching David argue with Chloe to move the parked car. She finally went outside to park the car on the side of the sidewalk. David turned around, facing Max. "And I don't even know who _you_ are. One of Chloe's punk friends?!"

 _Do I look like a punk to you?_ She thought. Max took a couple of steps away from him but the man continued to move towards her. "N-No… I'm Max Caulfield… I am just… we're here for a project."

Her answer did not settle him in the slightest bit. "What project? Chloe never told me anything about one." _Oh right…_ _Like she would tell you anything. She never told her mom about homework_.

She gulped. "She's in my photography class, with Mr. Jefferson."

"She's surrounded by hipsters. Wonderful!" He pointed his finger at her, getting super close to her face. "You listen here, missy. If I find out you have been lying to me and you're up to no good only to have Chloe suspended again, I will make your entire year a living a hell." And she knew he was serious about it. David was the complete opposite of William in terms of looks and personality. David had more hardened features, with his black beard and goatee the main standouts on his face. The security officer uniform did not help his case either. William looked more relaxed, giving Chloe the blue eyes she inherited but not the strawberry blonde hair he had.

Chloe returned to her room, pushing her stepfather away from Max. "Hey! Don't worry about Max. I have known her since we were kids and she doesn't have a dangerous bone in her body. She's probably the most lay low type of person I ever met."

"Thanks," Max muttered to her friend, half annoyed with the things Chloe said for reminding her of how boring she was, and the other grateful for getting her David off her back.

"You don't need to be in here, David. We have stuff to do."

"Oh right, because your priority in life is education. That's why you were suspended the first time."

"What's your problem, man? You definitely need to mind your own damn business," Chloe asked, "and leave us the hell alone. I am so sick of you barging in here like it's your property!"

"Right, because it's not like I don't actually _live_ here! You never have any concern for anyone but yourself."

She shook her head. "You live here now but when my mom finds out what you really are, she will want to get rid of you like the rat you really are!"

David moved closer to Chloe. Max could feel the tension growing each time one of them fed the argument with their words. No wonder Chloe referred to him as 'step-ass'. "Your mother and I are very much in love, Chloe. Nothing you do or say will make her change her mind about me. Not ever." David shook his head. "You and _Max_ are just two nobodies, and that's what you'll always be. Remember that the next time you push me away."

David left the room in a huff. Max imagined a cloud of smoke trailing from behind him as he stomped off. Chloe turned to Max, saying, "Sorry he got in your face like that. The man has issues."

"I can see why you don't like him. Is he always like this?"

She nodded, as though it happened many times before today. "Always."

Max pushed her hair back from her face. "Okay, let's get started on this project. Do you want to take the picture first? Even though… I feel like it'd be a bad idea for you to hold a camera. Period…"

She rolled her eyes at Max bringing that up. Even Max didn't enjoy making her feel bad. "It was _one_ time. But yeah, I will do it first." She went through her shelf, removing an item from it, and showing Max what it was: her father's camera. Old, yet just as good as the broken one. "This will do the job just fine."

She attempted to teach Chloe about determining whether or not the photo would turn out due to the light. It felt like the information went out one ear, and out the other. "Maybe I should actually show you," Max said. "We have half hour before Golden Hour."

"Uh, hello, I don't speak photography!"

"Golden hour is used by photographers before sunrise or before sunset, where the daylight is redder, and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky," Max said. "Anyways, let's go to the beach, and I can show you."

Chloe reluctantly agreed to drive to the beach with her, although it was easy to read Chloe's face. She didn't want to do this project, and Max wasn't sure if it was because of who she was partnered with or because of school in general. Max eased her shoulders, reminding herself it was only for a week.

Summer was not quite over yet, and Max loved how soft the sand felt when she scooped it up with her hands. One of the best memories, aside from the lighthouse, was at the beach where Chloe's father took them during summer vacation. Sometimes they spent all day there building sandcastles instead of swimming in the water, until the sun went down.

That's when she had the idea for her own photo. "You remember the sandcastles we would build?" Max asked. Chloe kicked the sand a little, nodding. "I want you to make one."

"What?"

"For the project. It can be my photo of you."

Chloe groaned, getting down on her knees to start building a sandcastle. "Is this going to take long?" Chloe asked.

"It'll take as long as it will take, Chloe," Max replied. "Just be natural and forget about the camera in my hands."

"Forgetting you have a camera in _your_ hands is impossible." Her statement wasn't completely false. Ever since she could hold one, she had a camera with her all the time no matter where she was, or who she was with.

"Just stay still and… think of a good memory of us."

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "That's a little hard."

"Chloe, please. Stop thinking of _that_ for two minutes before golden hour is over."

She sighed, but complied, building the sandcastle. Max waited for a couple more minutes, taking the picture from the left side of Chloe to capture the light perfectly. Even though they didn't have buckets to build the sand towers, Max still got the picture just as the sun was going down. The photo printed out of the instant camera perfectly. "Chloe, look at this," she said.

Chloe raised her eyebrows, but not in a sarcastic way. She nodded genuinely. "It's… really amazing, Max. Those shadows, though! I look so badass."

"Glad you think so."

"I hope I'll be able to take something that good."

"You will, Chloe. I'll be with you and guiding you the entire time. We just can't really do it today."

"Same time tomorrow?"

"We can try if you like."

"Sure.

Chloe drove Max back to school after they were done at the beach. Max suddenly didn't feel as awkward as before. She wondered if Chloe was beginning to warm up to her a little bit. As the vehicle came to a full stop in front of the school building, she said to Max, "We should discuss it over lunch tomorrow."

"That'd be great," Max agreed, as she opened the door to leave the car. She waved to Chloe after saying good bye.

In her dorm room, she heard soft sobbing when she walked past Kate's room. Max almost knocked on the door until Victoria left her room. "Having fun with your project, Max?" Victoria asked, but in a vicious, poisonous tone. "Or has your thug of a partner left you already?"

"We're doing just fine," Max replied. She hated interacting with Victoria Chase more than anything, and even worse was the thought of standing up to her.

"Be sure to take lots of selfies. I'm sure it'll grab Mr. Jefferson's attention."

Max ignored her, quickly heading into her room before Victoria sputtered more garbage.

She started working on her homework, with thoughts of rage roaming inside her mind. Who did Victoria think she was talking down to people? It grossed Max out, thinking Victoria could wake up in the morning and tear someone apart for not looking like her. She was sure even if there was a student who dressed like her, Victoria would find ways to make their lives a living hell.

Her cellphone shook with a couple texts from Chloe. She asked Max if she could stay over at her dorm for a little bit. Apparently her stepfather and mother weren't making things any easier for her. Max didn't see the problem. She had room for Chloe to sleep over, even though they weren't allowed to have visitors after a certain time period.

Hopefully nobody would notice the next morning. "Hey, thanks for letting me stay over. I appreciate it."

Max nodded. "Yeah, it's no problem."

"I haven't been in a dorm in a while. Not since Rachel went missing," Chloe said. "Damn do these rooms keep getting smaller every day or what?"

She chuckled nervously. "I guess so… but, um, feel free to stay here for as long as you like. Just try not to let anyone else see you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll stay out of sight."

Somehow, Max didn't believe a word of what she just said.


End file.
